Caleb Trask and the message of perseverance in East of Eden Caleb Trask was a man with many flaws and shortcomings. However, Caleb was also a man who deeply wanted to be perfect and pleasing to his family, a man who craved his father's attention, and a man with a better heart than any other character in the book. In his novel, East of Eden, John Steinbeck uses the character of Caleb Trask to convey the important message of hope and perseverance. When I first read East of Eden, nothing about Cal Trask's personality or mannerisms made him likable. He was introverted, cold and harsh. I couldn't help but feel the story of Cain and Able played out in a modern twist between him and his twin brother. Although Cal and his brother Aron were twins, there were distinct differences between the two boys. Aron was a natural point of sunshine, lighting up his surroundings wherever he went. He was a little boy with a curly head who was firmly attached to his rabbits. Cal was the opposite of his brother, quiet and serious; he was looking forward to cultivating a small piece of land that his father would give him. Yet there was an even greater difference between Cal and his angelic brother. Cal had an unsettling sense of anger and malice towards him that was completely foreign to Aron. Cal takes pleasure in making his brother cry and in making a little girl urinate in his pants by scaring her so much. It becomes apparent, however, that Cal struggles with his darkness and passionately wants to shed his meanness. He doesn't like it the way he is, but at the same time he can't change himself either. From the first introduction to the two brothers, I was fascinated by Cal. It was...... middle of paper...... 1989.JOHN STEINBECK(1902-1968). San Jose State University. January 17, 2001. .Levante, Howard. The Novels of John Steinbeck: A Critical Study. Columbia: U of Missouri Press, 1974.Murray, Robert Davis, ed. Steinbeck. Englewood: Prentice-Hall, 1972. National Steinbeck Center. Salinas, California. January 17, 2001. .Steinbeck Country. San Jose State University. January 17, 2001. .Trosow, Ester. Pacific Grove by John Steinbeck. January 17, 2001. .Trosow, Ester. Biography of John Steinbeck. January 17, 2001. .Valjean, Nelson. John Steinbeck: The Knight Errant. San Francisco: news books, 1975.